Foreign pilots, who account for around 20% of pilots employed by Indian air carriers, are expected to be phased out by 2013, according to DGCA Chief Bharat Bhushan

"We hope by 2013, India can do without foreign pilots," said Bhushan. More and more youth are entering the aviation field and backed up by many flying schools there is a good scope to have only Indian flying crew. The number of expat pilots have started going down in the past few years due to pressure from Indian pilots’ bodies on DGCA to force airlines to phase them out. Foreign pilots are also paid higher salaries he added.

According to the DGCA, the Indian civil aviation regulatory authority, there were 686 foreign pilots with airlines in India in 2009. As of March 2011, the number was around 350. There are about 1,300 Indian pilots.

On the fake pilot license issue, Bharatbhushan said the ministry had taken the matter seriously and had arrested 16 persons and three DGCA employees in related cases.

To make the pilot exams more transparent, DGCA was mulling conducting online tests. Its syllabus and a detailed question bank would be prepared and published on DGCA website soon. A Rs 350 crore plan for modernisation of DGCA has been prepared and submitted to the government, he said. Bharatbhooshan said the country's civil aviation sector, which has made a remarkable comeback after the global financial crunch, is witnessing unprecedented growth these days.

The sector had crossed 50 million mark in terms of the number of domestic passengers last year and registered a 24% growth this year till July, he said. "The financial meltdown, which gripped the world in 2007-08, had its reflection in our aviation sector as well.But, now, we have returned to the growth path in a big way," he said.

PTI